All posts tagged ‘cardboard box’

Idea found on Pinterest: Three boxes in various sizes, white paper, cut out bits, and a scarf equals a cute presentation of gifts from Santa. Image: Cathe Post

Santa is coming! Santa is coming! The aftermath of Santa leaves boxes and paper that fill your recycle bin and garbage through Valentine’s Day. Why not build a play structure out of the bits instead?

My husband and I built snowmen we found on Pinterest for our kids this Christmas. We found a large, medium, and small box for each child, filled the boxes with their Christmas presents, and then wrapped them in freezer paper we had from last year’s Christmas gifts. As a final touch, I crocheted a Cars scarf for my son, and am finishing up an Adventure Time Jake Scarf for my daughter. But after the kids dismantle their snowmen on Christmas morning, what are we going to do with the boxes?

He grinned and nodded, already anticipating the joy of portraying a piece of heavy equipment. How could I possibly say no?

And, so it began. In October, while other parents were buying ready made costumes or choosing fabric at a well-lit store with piped in music, I found myself scrounging through dumpsters for the perfect cardboard box to transform my kid into an inanimate object.

That first year, I decorated a box to look like a John Deere tractor. I removed the bottom of the box, cut a hole in the top, and painted it bright green with the customary yellow stripe. Black cardboard wheels, suspender style straps, and a cardboard tube for the exhaust pipe completed the project. Dressed in a plaid flannel shirt and a straw hat, my son slipped into the box and was ready to hit the (dirt) road.

Bulldozer

Utilizing cardboard and hot glue to craft Halloween costumes became a family tradition. My husband was no fan of the local craft store, but he could wield a box knife with the best of them. We became a team – he the builder of cardboard creations, me the painter. And the boys became confident in their dad’s ability to construct anything. The year Brad asked to be a backhoe – complete with fully-functioning digger arm – we had to rein him in.

Over the years, we worked side by side with the boys to create some one-of-a-kind costumes. Halloween became a month-long holiday as costumes were planned, scrounged, and constructed.

My boys are beyond trick-or-treating age now, but I still find myself eyeballing the recycle bins for good cardboard. Just in case.